Ohanian calls out ex-Tennis star's 'sexist' jibe on wife Serena Williams, slams with stats

Calling out Ion Tiriac's 'sexist' comments on Serena William's, the former World No. 1's husband Alexis Ohanian hit back at the Madrid Open owner through a series of tweets. Ohanian shared William's heroics at the 2012 Madrid Open, wherein she put on a stunning display of tennis to defeat Victoria Azarenka and capture her career's first Madrid Open title. Taking a dig at Ion Tiriac, a former tennis player himself, Ohanian remarked that his '3-year-old child has more Grand Slam victories' than the former World No. 8.

Ohanian's strike comes after Ion Tiriac had commented upon Serena William's weight and age implying that the tennis star should 'retire' by now. The Madrid Open owner, in an interview with a Romanian public channel, had said that Serena Williams 'does not move easily as she used to 15 years ago.' Moreover, he remarked, "Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she would retire! From all points of view.” Tiriac, who also heads the Romanian Tennis Federation, took a jibe at William's weight in the same interview. 

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'Had to Google it...'

Responding to Tiriac's comments, Ohanian stated that no one cared about what the 81-year-old thinks. Labelling the former tennis player as 'racist/sexist,' Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian asserted that he would 'not hold back' if someone comes for his family. Ohanian received strong support for his rebuttal to Tiriac and was lauded by netizens on Twitter. 

Widely considered as one of the best tennis players across the globe, Serena Williams holds 39 Grand Slam titles - placing her third on the all-time list. She also holds the records for the most women's singles matches won at majors with 357 matches and most singles majors won since turning 30-years-old. The ace tennis star was ranked No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017 after achieving the feat for the first time in 2002. Williams was married to Alexis Ohanian on November 16, 2017, and the two have a daughter together. 

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